Carrot Cake Bread with Nutella Swirl Cream Cheese Frosting.
Say hello to the trashiest little carrot cake that you ever did see.
Wanna know why?
Brown butter.
Brown sugar.
Bananas.
(I know. Lots of Bs.)
Coconut!
Cream cheese.
(and Cs?)
and…
NUTELLA.
Need I say more?
Pretty sure the only thing that didn’t make it into this bread is some form of booze.
Sometimes it still blows my mind that I hated nutella for 31 years of my life. Or at least I thought that I hated nutella. I think it’s safe to say I can thank Max for my current love of it.
Also, I’ve had a super serious craving for some sort of carrot cake ever since Heather shared one in late February. That first photo? UGH. I just want to eat first-birthday-cake style. Face smash worthy.
And it’s nuts, because carrot cake is rarely my go-to. But it’s been all I can think about. The thing is, it’s never just the carrot cake I want. It’s always always always the cream cheese frosting.
I can’t even with the cream cheese frosting.
It’s 2015 now and “I can’t even” is most certainly out right?
Well I can’t even with you, 2015.
A few years ago I made banana carrot cupcakes with coconut cream cheese frosting and I even had a little helper.
Bonus: they have Cadbury mini eggs on top. Like little nests! Which is completely awesome and fun.
Until you realize that you have to buy a whole bag of Cadbury mini eggs.
And then you figure that you may as well just buy two bags, because of, well… seasonal priorities.
And then you set them out on the counter in an adorable pastel Easter bowl to be all festive and stuff and so when you have guests, they can have a little snack!
Except. You are the guest(s).
It’s really fun.
You eat alllllll the mini eggs.
It’s only Spring once, after all.
(PSA: this is all lies, because they now have Cadbury mini eggs at Christmas so there’s that. And now life is flipped upside down.)
Before I finish speaking terrifying gibberish, I’m thinking that those cupcakes will be the dessert that I make for Easter. But in the meantime, cravings must be squashed.
So I made carrot banana coconut cake bread with cream cheese nutella swirl icing.
Way too long of a name. Wasn’t going to subject you to THAT.
I based the cake bread off of the brown butter banana bread in Seriously Delish because I knew it was a foolproof browned butter bread recipe.
could.not.stop.eating.
I mean. JUST LOOK!
Let’s all take a swim in that.
Last week I might have eaten a half a slice at 2:30AM (#momlife) and then a skinny slice at like 6AM. Skinny slices and random bite calories don’t count. It’s a fact.
Surprisingly it was a perfect snack. Or not surprisingly? It’s vegetable bread!
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Yield: makes one 9x5 loaf
Total Time: 2 hours (includes cooling time)
Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, browned
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup canned coconut milk (light or full fat is fine)
2 cups packed freshly grated carrots
1 cup packed shredded, sweetened coconut
cream cheese frosting
8 ounces (1 block) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 2/3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup nutella
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9x5 loaf pan liberally with nonstick spray. (Mine is 9 1/2x5 so that works too)
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until it is combined and somewhat smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla bean paste, whisking until combined. Use a spoon to stir in the bananas and coconut milk. Stir in the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined, and then add in the carrots and coconut. Stir just until the batter comes together and the carrots are evenly dispersed.
Spoon the batter into the greased loaf pan. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until the cake is no longer jiggly in the center. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Remove from the pan and let cool completely before frosting.
nutella swirled cream cheese frosting
Place the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of your electric mixer and beat on medium speed until creamy. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the sugar and beat until combined. Add the vanilla extract, scraping down the sides if needed. Beat the frosting on medium-high speed for 1 to 2 minutes until super creamy. Frost the cake once cooled completely. Take a knife or spoon and swirl the nutella overtop of the frosting - it will be messy and crazy! You can use a knife to scrape the frosting off the sides of the loaf and put it back on top and swirl more. This cake is definitely stored best in the fridge!
(cake inspired by flourishing foodie, recipe adapted from my brown butter banana bread in seriously delish)
